8. The Mechanism of Merit & Sin
The Mechanism of Merit & Sin
Based on the lecture of
The Most Venerable Phrathepyanmongkol
(Sermchai Jayamanggalo),
www.dhammacenter.org
Abbot of Wat Luang Phor Sodh
Dhammakayaram, Rajaburi Province, Thailand,
Compiled on 20 September 2016 by Pittaya Wong
According
to Buddhist teaching, one earns merit when doing wholesome deeds. These wholesome deeds will bear fruits as
good karmic consequences, both in the present and the future. On the contrary, if one commits unwholesome deeds,
one will earn sin which will cause bad karmic consequences, both in the present
and the future lifetimes as well. The
accumulation of merit or the pursuit of virtues perfection, when completed,
will lead to one’s enlightenment.
With
Dhammakaya Meditation, we discovered the systematic mechanism on how merit and
sin work in relationship with the law of karma.
Thus, Dhammakaya Meditation enables us to explain this phenomena better.
The
insight and intuition power of Dhammakaya allow us to see the merit and sin as
‘energy’ which makes the functioning of karma system possible. When one commits a wholesome deed, either
mentally, verbally, or physically, The Wholesome Nurturer will take such deed
for further processing. The Wholesome
Nurturer is the transcendental body who dwells inside the super-refinement
level of each of one’s 18 bodies. [According to Dhammakaya Meditation, an
individual primarily has 18 bodies which are the physical body and the other 17
transcendental bodies within, namely (1) the human body (2) the refined human
body (3) the celestial body (4) the refined celestial body (5) Rupa Brahma body
(6) refined Rupa Brahma body (7) Arupa Brahma body (8) refined Arupa Brahma
body (9) Gotrabhu Dhamma body (Dhammakaya) (10) refined Gotrabhu Dhammakaya
(11) Sotapanna Dhammakaya (12) refined Sotapanna Dhammakaya (13) Sagadagami
Dhammakaya (14) refined Sagadagami Dhammakaya (15) Anagami Dhammakaya (16)
refined Anagami Dhammakaya (17) Arahat Dhammakaya and (18) refined Arahat
Dhammakaya].
The
Wholesome Nurturer does his work when one commits wholesome deeds either
mentally, verbally, or physically, by processing the deeds and passing it on to
The Inserter Body, The Deliverer Body, The Commander Body, The Controller Body,
and The Governor Bodies, respectively.
This is like the working of the government officials or an organization
where an issue is processed step by step and from the lower level to the
superior level of commandment for consideration. The Governor Bodies can also be classified
into many levels, ranging from The Governor of one’s body to the Governor of
nations, the planet, the universe, the certain area of Dhatu-Dhamma (elemental
nature), until reaching The Governor of Wholesome Dhatu-Dhamma Machine, and finally,
the Chief of Wholesome Dhatu-Dhamma (Ton Dhat Ton Dham), whereas all of
the aforesaid are ‘transcendental.’
Once
one’s wholesome deed reaches the Wholesome Dhatu-Dhamma Machine and the Chief
of Dhatu-Dhamma, the Chief and the Machine will process the wholesome deed and
generate the karmic consequence programs (when running this program, it will
come true physically in the present or future), merit energy, and the virtues
or wholesomeness which can be mainly divided into discipline (sila),
concentration (samadhi), and wisdom (panna), and return all of
these to the human body, passing through various levels, from top to bottom,
until reaching one’s 17 transcendental bodies and the very end station which is
the physical human body. Normally, this
process goes on very quickly, and it takes less than 1 second to complete. Thereafter, the Wholesome Nurturer will do
his duty by operating the returned merit energy, karmic consequence programs,
the virtues, and the wholesomeness within the human body. The merit energy earned will be stored in the
merit sphere of human body, and The Wholesome Nurturer will nurture the human
body with virtues and wholesome power as well as running the karmic consequence
programs further.
However,
when one commits unwholesome deeds either mentally, verbally, or physically,
The Unwholesome Nurturer will do the same function and process. Thus, one earns sin energy, defilement, and
bad karmic consequence programs to be stored and operated in the human body.
This
means that, within each of our 18 bodies, there are both The Wholesome Nurturer
and The Unwholesome Nurturer who do their duties and operation within our
bodies at the transcendental level.
If one
always commits wholesome deeds, The Wholesome Nurturer will gain strength with
more and more merit energy earned. This
can be compared to a person who always exercises. His body will gain strength as he exercises
more and more regularly. Likewise, if an
individual commits unwholesome deeds more and more, such individual will be
overwhelmed with unwholesomeness, defilements, and sinfulness. The merit and sin play their roles along the
system of karma like this. Finally, the
merit side or The Wholesome Dhatu-Dhamma (wholesome elemental nature) is
successful by fulfilling merit energy into an individual until he can attain
enlightenment to become a Buddha, a Silent-Buddha, or a Noble Disciple, whereas
The Unwholesome Dhatu-Dhamma (unwholesome elemental nature) is successful in
its work by fulfilling sin energy into an individual until he is drawn to
deeper hell realms for punishment and become a sinful disadvantaged creature.
